Depending on the age of your child, will adults be present when the Internet is accessed?

Have you had a discussion with the child’s parents about the cyber-safety guidelines you expect your child to abide by?

If your child or his friend is old enough to have a cell phone, he or she could use it as a device for cyberbullying or sexting. Of course, open access to the digital world also opens up doors to viewing inappropriate or offensive langue, access to pornography, or access to your child by an online predator.

Kids also use their time together spending endless hours in the online gaming world which can offer its own set of safety challenges. Controls on gaming systems must also be set up to prevent explicit content from surfacing or potential access by a child predator to your child.

Finally, consider using monitoring tools so you can see what sites or information your child is accessing while away from the home, or the time spent using devices. Of course, this will only work on their own personal devices.

Of course, there is other general information you will want to obtain in advance that doesn’t necessarily involve Internet use to ensure your child’s safety. Make sure that your child knows how to connect with you immediately if anything makes them feel uncomfortable.

I always tell parents to trust their instincts – if you don’t feel confident about sending your child for an overnight’s stay, don’t send them; or instead, invite your child’s friend to stay at your own home where you can better monitor all activity. You can always ask a child to check his phone at the front door when arriving.

Enough is Enough has got all the information you need to help keep your child safe in the digital world this summer and throughout the year. Please, take some time to learn about online dangers at EIE’s Internet Safety 101 website. There’s loads of great information on a variety of Internet safety topics, as well as recommended tools. Be sure to print out a copy of EIE’s Rules ‘N Tools(SM) checklist, as well as their Parent’s Pledge and Parent Buddy Check, each of which will help you become proactive in keeping your child safe while online.